


Court me

by Nemurenai



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Dating, Dinosaurs, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-23
Updated: 2018-10-23
Packaged: 2019-08-06 08:09:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,678
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16384421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nemurenai/pseuds/Nemurenai
Summary: Kageyama wants to ask Tsukishima out but he doesn’t know how.





	Court me

* * *

“Wait, what!?” Yamaguchi’s words slipped from his mouth before he could stop them, echoing across the side of the school grounds and into the distance. 

“Like I said… I want to ask Tsukishima out…” The setter drew circles in the dirt with his foot, watching dust kick up with feigned interest.

Yamaguchi didn’t have much to say in response. He had already let his thoughts escape through his mouth. Kageyama was never the sort of person to play pranks or lie to others which put him at loss for words. 

He had received a note stuffed into his desk, written on crumpled remains of notepaper. On it, a “meet me behind the school today” which would have been relatively romantic, if it weren’t for the fact that he could recognise it as the first year setter’s messy scribble of handwriting.

“Are you… sure about this?” Yamaguchi questioned, kneading his brow.

 

Kageyama and Tsukishima always fought and the fact that Kageyama was even remotely interested in the taller boy was, to Yamaguchi, unfathomable. Sure they had some moments where they somehow managed to get along but most of it was due to necessity, pressure of winning and the daunting gaze of Daichi.

 

“I’m sure.” Kageyama replied confidently, without delay, putting a stop to all the useless thoughts and questions filtering themselves into Yamaguchi’s head.

“R-right… and what did you need me for?” 

“How do I ask him?” the setter asked bluntly as if it were natural and Yamaguchi couldn't say that he was surprised. 

“Ah well… why don’t you just tell him you like him and ask him out…” Yamaguchi felt like a bit of an idiot stating the obvious, but upon reconsideration, decided to retract the statement, “…but it would perhaps be better if you got to know him a little more by inviting him out and then asking him to date you when you’re ready.”

He wasn’t exactly convinced that Kageyama, whose brain was probably only filled with volleyball and on occasion, food, would take such interest in his best friend to the point he considered asking for advice.

Tsukishima had rejected many honest and upfront confessions and as the designated middleman for the less direct ones he knew that either option would result in the same outcome. A cold, unfeeling but polite ‘no’. Not that Yamaguchi believed that Kageyama would be terribly torn by rejection but he felt a bit of pity for the clueless setter, who was probably confusing some sort of unrecognised emotion as a crush.

 

“How do I do that… “get to know him?””

 

Yamaguchi sighed and drew his lips into a line. This was more difficult than he had fathomed, considering Kageyama’s personality and lack of romantic knowledge. But he could see the setter’s effort and whether or not it was some strange, temporary infatuation, he was probably not the one to make that decision and thus concluded the best thing he could do was offer sincere advice.

“Well do you at least know what Tsukki likes?”

Kageyama earnestly shook his head no.

Yamaguchi had to hold back a sigh, he should have expected as much.

“Tsukki likes dinosaurs, strawberry shortcake and listening to music. So maybe you can learn a bit about those things so you can talk to him and invite him to go somewhere. There’s a good dinosaur exhibit starting next week at the museum you could take him to.” Yamaguchi himself had already planned to invite Tsukishima, but upon seeing Kageyama's determination, he decided that he could afford to give up one outing.

“Dino...saurs……” Kageyama murmured hesitantly to himself, as if filing it away into the depths of his mind, “Okay. Thanks Yamaguchi.” the boy fiddled with the collar of his uniform before straightening himself, “Let’s go to practice.” He took a few steps, paused, and turned back, “Please don’t tell Tsukishima.”

Yamaguchi laughed, “I won’t.”

 

* * *

 

Kageyama was not very good at being indiscreet. And even less so when all the members of the Karasuno volleyball club were present to take notice of the setter's strange behaviour.

Rather than his energetic pleading alongside Hinata to stay for a couple of moments longer to practice in the gym, he packed up quicker than the third years. But lingered around the gym or the clubroom, as if he were waiting for someone. Eventually he’d head home without approaching anyone in particular beyond a bow and gruff goodbye to his seniors.

It was obvious but of course all of the Karasuno boys were gentlemen and gentlemen didn't go diving their noses directly into other people's business. Instead they bothered Hinata who replied with a quizzical shrug, forcing them to turn their heads to Yamaguchi.

Yamaguchi was by no means a good liar or actor, but he managed to convince them that perhaps the first year setter wasn’t feeling well but didn’t want to let everyone down by leaving early, to which most of them scratched their heads, considered it plausible and left it at that since Kageyama was never one to think about anything beyond volleyball.

 

* * *

 

 

“Have you talked to Tsukki yet?” Yamaguchi asked, chewing the tip of his chopsticks thoughtfully before picking up another mouthful of rice.

“No…” Kageyama responded with a difficult look on his face, as if he had been tasked with completing several sheets of math homework, “Whenever I try to talk to him I just… freeze up.”

“I think you’re getting too worked up Kageyama, you need to relax a little. Tsukki doesn’t show it, but he’ll listen if you talk to him nicely.” Yamaguchi picked up remaining bit of boiled egg from his lunch box and tossed it into his mouth, “you don’t need to ‘wait for the right time’ or anything like that.”

“What are you talking about?” A voice piped up from around the corner of the building and a familiar orange haired boy bounced over, squeezing himself in the small space between Kageyama and Yamaguchi. 

“None of your business idiot!!” Kageyama growled, hurriedly shoving the remaining half of his yakisoba bread into his mouth before Hinata could get to it, dusting the crumbs off himself before getting up.

Yamaguchi eyed the two as they raced each other towards the gymnasium. How they both had the stamina to practice, even during lunch was beyond him. And with a sigh he packed up his lunch and spontaneously decided that he could afford to do a few practice serves.

 

* * *

 

 

Kageyama rarely ever talked to Tsukishima outside of club activities, which made it awfully difficult for the first year setter to approach the middle blocker without the whole situation feeling forced.

And to Kageyama it was fate that one afternoon, before the sky was turning dark, Tsukishima had returned to the clubroom to retrieve his forgotten knee pads. 

“You’re still here?” The blonde commented nonchalantly, “There’s something called moderation you know your highness.” He raised a brow at Kageyama.

In all honesty he was surprised by the boy’s sudden presence and he could feel a strange tension filling the air, as if he had stepped into a trap, and before he could retreat the door slammed shut behind him.

He noticed the setter scan outside through the window of the clubroom before he turned around to face him and Tsukishima reeled back a little, unsure as to what he had done to be forced into this unprecedented situation. 

“What do you want?” Tsukishima snarled with a little more malice than he had intended.

Kageyama took a few hesitant steps forward “How do I put this… I…” his eyes darted across the room, and his hands started to sweat a little.

“Don’t tell me this has anything to do with you finishing early all the time.” Tsukishima groaned, shuffling backwards, his face twisting into a mix of surprise and realisation. The realisation that Kageyama had been waiting for him each and every day to put him in this exact situation.

 

“Sort of… I mean… not really.”

 

Tsukishima began to question which it was before Kageyama let out a sudden growl of frustration, running his hand through his hair and thrusting a ticket into the confused blonde’s chest.

Catching and glancing the crumpled ticket in his grasp, Tsukishima raised a brow, a sudden rush of excitement filling his chest upon quickly scanning the ticket, “What’s this for?” he asked, restraining the excitement that was attempting to claw its way out of his throat. 

“It’s for the dinosaur exhibit at the museum.” 

“No, I know what it’s for… I meant, why are you giving this to me?”

Kageyama seemed as if he had never considered that he needed to reason his sudden ticket gifting and paused, “It’s for…… hanging out.”

Tsukishima almost laughed out loud at Kageyama’s awkwardly fumbled choice of words and pocketed the ticket, “…and? When are we going to ‘hang out’ your highness?”

Again, the setter had not considered that he would make it this far, much less be asked what time he was to see his teammate on a day that wasn’t scheduled for practice. And Tsukishima watched on as the cogs in Kageyama’s mind spun at an alarming rate.

“The first day of the exhibit. Next Sunday. At twelve. At the station.” The shorter boy managed to stutter a string of short sentences before trying to remember the details himself. 

Tsukishima chuckled and zipped up his bag, shouldering it before he made his way towards the club room door, leaving with a crooked smirk on his face.

“See you next Sunday your highness.” the blonde hummed, closing the door behind him.

Kageyama’s heart was pounding in his chest, as if he had been sprinting at full speed for the duration of the conversation between the two of them. Whether it was nerves or the sight of Tsukishima’s gleaming eyes and the glimpse of a crooked smile before he left, Kageyama couldn’t give an answer. But he was sure of one thing.

 

He liked Tsukishima Kei.

 

* * *

 

Tsukishima looked down at his watch for the fifth time. It was fifteen past twelve.

 

Everyone was late.

 

The blonde tugged at the straps of his backpack and looked around at the throngs of people making their way through Sendai station, his eyes occasionally caught on people resembling someone familiar, before looking away upon realising that they weren’t who he was looking for.

And before he could check his phone again for any kind of contact Kageyama appeared, out of breath.

“Where have you been?” Tsukishima snapped, crossing his arms.

“I….over…slept…..” wheezed Kageyama. To which Tsukishima clicked his tongue in irritation.

 

“And?”

 

“And?” Kageyama straightened himself after recovering a little, wiping the sweat from his brow.

 

“Where’s everyone else?”

 

The blonde was clearly irritated by Kageyama and whoever else was delaying him from laying eyes on the amazing sight of the dinosaur exhibit. He looked at his phone again expecting a message, particularly Yamaguchi who was only ever occasionally late.

“It’s just me.” Kageyama responded, unsure of the answer that Tsukishima had expected.

 

That took a moment for the boy to render. “Excuse me?”

 

“I didn’t invite anyone else. It’s just you and me.”

Tsukishima went through a range of emotions in the span of a few seconds. From irritation to his heart instantly dropping at the thought of it just being the two of them, before glowing with anger at being stuck with the setter for a whole afternoon.

He was so caught up in the thought of the exhibition that he had never considered that no one else was invited, and he instantly regret letting himself be lured into this situation. To add to it all a quick glance at his phone revealed an “I’m sorry Tsukki!” from Yamaguchi, who obviously had some part in this and Tsukishima made a mental note to have a thorough talk with Yamaguchi later.

“Are we going to go?” Kageyama looked up at Tsukishima, obviously clueless of the hell that he had put the blonde through and he adjusted his cap and looked at his watch, “…Should we eat first?” he added quickly after seeing the look crossing Tsukishima’s face.

Tsukishima had concluded that since he was already here, he couldn’t turn back, not after he had accepted the ticket to the exhibit. He would just put up with the setter, go to the exhibition, enjoy himself and head home. Easy.

“Sure.” He replied curtly after his brief mental analysis of his predicament, steeling himself for the long, long day ahead.

 

* * *

 

Tsukishima enjoyed silence, but this wasn’t not the kind of silence that he enjoyed.

The setter had barely uttered a word since they had sat down with their burgers, but rather, Kageyama had spent a long time drilling an unblinking stare into Tsukishima’s face. There was only so much the blonde could take.

 

“Could you stop that your highness?” he snapped.

“Stop what?” 

“Staring at me. Do I have something on my face? If there’s something you want to say, just say it.” He tore an angry bite out of his burger and glared at the boy sitting opposite him.

Kageyama responded by looking down at his lap before looking back up at him, “Uh, what…. what kind of music do you like?” the tone was flat, forced, and sounded like he was reading a question off his phone like an elementary child giving his first public speech.

Tsukishima turned away to let a small chuckle escape at the ridiculousness of it all as Kageyama looked up, his face flushing red.

“You probably wouldn’t know even if I told you.” 

“How do you know?!” The setter responded, “I listen to music…sometimes.”

“Oh… and?” Tsukishima gave a devilish smirk, one that said, ‘try me’ and Kageyama could feel that odd sensation rise in his chest. It wasn’t anger, it was different, a feeling of excitement, but not quite.

“I won’t lose to you.” The setter grinned, earning him another laugh.

The day had just started but Kageyama didn’t want this moment to end.

 

* * *

 

Tsukishima walked with long strides through the entrance gates, trying not to appear ridiculously eager to start looking around. He turned to glance at Kageyama who was fumbling for his ticket at the gate before contemplating just leaving the dark hair boy behind so that he could enjoy the exhibit alone but Tsukishima had a heart. He had been looking forward to this exhibit for a long time so he felt as if he was, even if reluctantly, obligated to treat Kageyama with a certain level of politeness and respect.

“Let’s go” he prompted just as Kageyama had pulled up beside him.

They made their way to the start of the exhibit, greeted by a large skeleton of a t-rex, bones strung up by hundreds of transparent wires, poised as if it were ready to come to life at any moment, lit from underneath by glowing lights, casting shadows across the museum ceiling.

For a moment Kageyama felt himself transfixed on the sheer size of the display, eyes scanning over the tail, tracing the bones down to the claws, which alone, were larger than his whole forearm. An incredible realisation of how small he was washed over him.

But Kageyama couldn’t allow himself to be swept away in awe, he had Tsukishima to focus on, he had to ‘get to know him’. He shook his head vigorously and mentally scolded himself, refocusing his thoughts to the blonde beside him. 

“So…” the setter had his words stolen with his outward breath as he laid his eyes on Tsukishima standing beside him. 

The boy was gazing up, into the display before them, an expression that Kageyama couldn’t quite describe on Tsukishima’s face. Perhaps one of awe or even excitement, whatever it was, it was one that Kageyama had never seen and he could feel his chest grow tight and he swallowed, tearing his eyes away to give himself time to engrave the scene into his memory.

 

“Tsukishi-”

 

“Let’s go.” The blonde demanded curtly, seemingly having reverted back to his cold, snarky demeanour and Kageyama followed without another word, heart pounding against his ribcage as if it were trying to escape from his chest.

 

“…right.”

 

They walked in silence as they approached signs directing them to the right, ‘The reign of dinosaurs’, down to an area sectioned off by walls to create a long, winding, dimly lit corridor that had images and videos that formed a sort of timeline. Unsurprisingly there were a lot of families and children running around, interacting with the images and peepholes that were scattered among the text describing the creatures that has existed before human life.

Kageyama followed along as Tsukishima began to walk, with slow, almost careful strides as he scanned the walls of text and images.

To Kageyama, a part of him was disappointed. This was not the date he was hoping for, it was difficult to talk to Tsukishima to begin with, but being alone, just the two of them? Where could he even begin? But another part of him couldn’t take his eyes off the blonde. He couldn’t help but carefully take note of the way his eyes scanned the text on the wall, the way his lips moved, ever so slightly as he was reading, his hands pushed against the wall as he leant over to look through the peephole at the image on the other side.

The cogs in the setter’s mind turned as he tried to conjure up something to do, something to say to Tsukishima so that it wouldn’t feel like he was just tagging along. 

“Are you going to have a look?”

A voice cut through Kageyama’s scrambled thoughts and he looked up to find himself staring at Tsukishima’s before the blonde turned his gaze away and pointed at the peephole he had been looking at earlier, an awkward demand to which Kageyama obliged.

 

Inside the peephole was a small diorama of little dinosaurs spread out over patches of fake grass, a small comet made out of cellophane hanging in the top corner, implying the imminent death of the small figurines.

Kageyama straightened himself after taking in the scene and was met with by an expectant look from Tsukishima.

“That’s pretty cool.” he blurted, “shame that they died though.”

Kageyama wasn’t used to such casual talk with Tsukishima, it was awkward, strange and he felt a mix of anxiety and excitement course through his whole body. Partially due to being slighted on a regular basis. If this were in the classroom he’d be yelling back in response to some know-it-all insult while Yamaguchi stood between the two of them.

“Yeah…” Tsukishima squatted, peering into another peephole before reading the text on the wall beside it, “I would love to see one in real life.” His voice was soft and Kageyama was glad that the hallway was dark so that Tsukishima couldn’t see how flushed his face was.

 

“Anyway, let’s keep going.”

 

“…okay.”

 

Kageyama made a mental note to himself to thank Yamaguchi later.

 

* * *

 

 

As Tsukishima made his way through the exhibit he came to the conclusion that Kageyama wasn’t so bad to have around, that it was most likely having Hinata in the equation that made things unbearable. Much like throwing a bouncy ball into a tightly enclosed space that already contained a single, stationary bouncy ball. Two bouncy balls in an enclosed space meant chaos.

He could take his time browsing through the displays and the interactive corners, dodging the children that ran past his feet, all whilst Kageyama quietly walked by his side.

Before long they had reached the final part of the exhibit, a large area with risen steps in a sort of semicircle where an audience could sit. A barrier was set up just before the first row and in the centre of the stage stood a large, life-like t-rex, mid snarl, seemingly ready to come to life at any moment.

 

The two boys walked over to it. Feeling helplessly small all over again.

“It’s big.” Kageyama blurted out, earning him a laugh from Tsukishima.

“The t-rex’s size isn’t the only thing that’s impressive. It’s one of the most well-known dinosaurs out there. Do you know why?” 

Kageyama leant his elbows on the railing, staring into his hands, ‘No.’

“Well, there are a lot of dinosaur fossils that have been discovered around the world but out of all them, the t-rex was one of the first to be discovered. What’s more is that there are a large amount of well-preserved fossils discovered for t-rexes, meaning that scientists know more about it. These guy are amazing, they were able to survive with broken bones, major infections, even holes in their skull.”

Tsukishima leant down over the railing next to Kageyama and gazed out at the t-rex, continuing, “and because we know so much about them they’re constantly shown in books, taught about in schools. In turn they’re the star of movies, in the spotlight…” he paused as if to consider what he has just said before concluding, “dinosaurs are amazing creatures, don’t you think?”

The blonde turned to glance at Kageyama before stopping abruptly, realising how he had just suddenly began rambling to his teammate about dinosaurs. Upon realisation he turned his head away to look in the opposite direction. 

“You know a lot about dinosaurs don’t you?” Kageyama commented to which Tsukishima refused to reply, continuing the train his eyes vaguely into the distance to remove himself from the moment.

 

Kageyama shuffled over a little until their arms were touching, taking a deep breath before looking out at the t-rex before them, “I’m relieved. At first I thought you weren’t having any fun…and …I didn’t know what to do…but how do I put it…you’re… pretty amazing… you know. Knowing about dinosaurs and all that stuff. I don’t know anything.”

Tsukishima bit his lip as he felt Kageyama’s head hesitantly rest on his shoulder, as the slow realisation began to dawn on him and the pieces of the mystery began to click into place.  From being invited, the outing being just the two of them to Kageyama taking an interest in what he was saying with little to no objections.

“It was the worst day in my entire life.” Tsukishima mocked loudly, “being stuck with his highness.” He leant back into Kageyama a little, still turned away, drawing his eyes over the children running back and forth along the steps and the parents keeping an eye out on them.

 

Kageyama stiffened, “Hey, I-”

 

But before Kageyama could finish the t-rex before them gave out a deafening roar, rearing is head back and the two almost fell out of fright. Tsukishima could hear the giggles and surprised shrieks of the children around them as he grabbed Kageyama’s arm.

“Oh my! Better be careful or he might eat you!” a voice boomed out from surrounding speakers and a man wearing what would could be described as a safari outfit appeared from behind the dinosaur and winked at the bewildered Tsukishima before turning to face the rest of the crowd who had begun gathering around on the steps and seating themselves comfortably, “Welcome to our live dinosaur experience! It seems you have all met our resident t-rex. Don’t worry! He doesn’t bite…well maybe sometimes.” the audience broke into laughter and applause as the mechanical t-rex reared its head again and stomped around in the fenced area, sizing the audience before directing its gaze at the still partially stunned blonde. 

“Oh, what’s this? Seems like he’s taken a liking to you buddy! Maybe because you’re almost as tall as he is!” Tsukishima felt himself hunch over a little to hide his height at the comment, but with the t-rex approaching him right before his eyes he couldn’t help but gasp. 

The giant creature lowered its head and he could see the texture of its skin and the large, unblinking eyes and feel every outward breath from its flaring nostrils. He looked over at the man who gave a reassuring nod and he straightened himself before turning to look at Kageyama, “Do you want to…?”

The dark haired boy barely had time to hesitate and he stood up and awkwardly placed himself next to Tsukishima. Gently, they put their hands on the dinosaur’s nose, a smile creeping across Tsukishima’s face.

The crowd broke into cheers, whistles and applause as the dinosaur nudged itself into their palms and Kageyama thought his heart was going to burst at the sight of Tsukishima genuinely smiling.

The two lowered their hands and stood back as the t-rex retreated, giving another triumphant roar that boomed throughout the museum and through their chests, prompting another round of delighted applause from the crowd.

“That wasn’t so bad.” Kageyama laughed nervously. 

“Were you scared your highness? Is that fear I see on your face?” Tsukishima sneered.

The shorter boy began to argue as Tsukishima eyes wondered and he found himself staring out at the t-rex and the children running up to greet it, eyes large, filled with excitement and curiosity and he smiled to himself.

“Are you listening to me Tsukishima!?”

 

“Yeah. I’m listening” he replied.

 

Perhaps today wasn’t so bad.

 

* * *

 

“I’M COMING HINATA YOU IDIOT!”

Kageyama frantically crammed his sweaty kneepads and shoes into his bag, shouting back at Hinata who was already down the steps, proclaiming he’d leave the setter behind if he didn’t pick up his pace, not noticing the fact that Tsukishima had entered the clubroom during his verbal war.

Upon scrambling to leave the setter almost ran right into the blonde, taking a few moments to realise who it was that was stopping him from catching up to the boy outside.

 

“Hey.” he stopped abruptly, his mind suddenly blank.

 

The two had never spoken about that day since they had gone back to school. Neither to Yamaguchi or each other. They went about as if nothing had happened, attending practice, going to classes, passing each other in the hallways. It had been over a week. 

To Kageyama it was a sign that perhaps, his feelings didn’t quite reach the blonde. Perhaps, he hadn’t made his intentions clear enough but he had figured that if that were the case, that was just the way things were meant to be.

“…are you free? Next week?” Tsukishima mumbled, fidgeting uncomfortably where he was standing. 

“I guess so…” Kageyama responded, adjusting his bag strap on his shoulder.

Tsukishima laughed at the response “So that’s a yes?” he smiled, revealing two tickets from his jacket pocket, “Would your highness go out with this commoner?” he looked at Kageyama, who was frozen stiff, trying to render the whole situation, grabbing his hand and placing a ticket in his hand.

“There’s a match Sunday at Sendai gymnasium. I’ll see you at eleven. Don’t be late.” 

Kageyama didn’t know how to respond. But before he could Tsukishima leant over, kissing the setter on the lips. And when he pulled back Kageyama could feel every drop of blood in his body rushing to his face. 

As he opened the door Tsukishima thought for a moment and turned back, “You’d better not invite anyone else.”

 

“I-”

 

“What’s taking you so long Kageyam- oh wait, Tsukishima you were here too? Since when?” Hinata appeared in the doorway of the clubroom, badly timed as usual.

“None of your business short-stuff.”

“Excuse me!?” 

Kageyama took a deep breath and put the ticket in his pocket, “You bet I won’t.” He grinned.

Tsukishima smirked back, “See you then.” 

Hinata looked back and forth between the two, “What’s happening? Where are you going?”

“Home, idiot.” 

“That’s not what I meant-” Hinata protested as Kageyama and Tsukishima pushed past him, ignoring the persistent questioning of the small middle blocker.

“Last one at the store has to treat everyone to meat buns.” Kageyama yelled back and before long Hinata was sprinting headfirst through the school gates ahead of them. 

“Guess you’ll owe us meat buns.” Kageyama mentioned and Tsukishima laughed. 

“We’ll see about that.”

 

 

Tsukishima reluctantly bought them all meat buns.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello I’ve risen from the grave again with this piece I’ve been working on since who knows when. Since it’s been so long I feel like some parts aren’t exactly as good as others but I really tried my best. 
> 
> As always if you enjoyed the fic it would make me super happy! Please let me know what you think!


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